The present invention is directed to improvements in wheeled luggage of the type having a deployable handle which is adapted to convert an ordinary piece of four-wheeled luggage into a two-wheeled can for wheeling the luggage while carrying additional luggage on the quasi-cart structure defined by the luggage, its wheels, and its deployed towing handle.
Prior art luggage has included a wide variety of wheeled arrangements permitting towing or rolling of luggage on two or more wheels as well as a variety of luggage constructions in which a deployable handle serves to function along with the wheels and the luggage as a quasi-luggage cart, onto which other luggage may be loaded.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a new and improved wheel arrangement is provided in combination with a deployable handle such that the luggage may be wheeled as an ordinary piece of luggage on four wheels in one mode of its operation and may be converted into a luggage cart and wheeled in a direction normal to the first direction when it is operated in its second mode as a luggage can.
The new arrangement includes the use of four casters having cylindrical wheels mounted on axles. Two of the casters have stationary axles and are fixed on one edge of the luggage, while the other two casters have swiveling axles and are attached to the luggage on the opposite edge of the luggage. In this manner, when all four wheels, i.e. the swiveling wheels and the fixed wheels of the casters are aligned in the same direction, the luggage may be wheeled with four-wheel support generally in a first direction, that of the fixed wheels. Alternatively, when it is desired to operate the luggage as a cart, the extendable tow handle is deployed and the luggage is tilted so as to enable the cart to be towed on the two or swivelable casters in a direction normal to that of the fixed axle wheels.
For a more complete understanding of these and other benefits to be derived from the practice of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description of the new and improved two-way towable luggage construction taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.